Buttermilk Substitute~ 4 Easy Ways In a Pinch ~

Buttermilk is an ingredient found in many recipes. But one that may not be in your fridge or pantry. So what to do when you're about to make, or worse yet you're in the midst of making, a recipe that calls for buttermilk?

Use a buttermilk substitute. One that's fast, easy and in your kitchen.

These 4 substitutes work equally well in:

baking

dressings, dips and other fresh food

When buttermilk is used in baking, the
buttermilk, along with baking soda, is the leavening agent. All this means is the cake, biscuits and pancakes rise because of the chemical reaction between buttermilk (acidic) and baking soda (basic).

By substituting another acidified dairy product, the same chemical reaction will still take place. It'll act as a leavening agent the same way as buttermilk.

If you want the benefit of probiotic bacteria, use another cultured dairy product rather than soured milk (non-probiotic). For baking or cooking, it makes no difference. The bacteria are killed when heated.

1. Soured Milk (Acidified Buttermilk)

This is commonly called a buttermilk substitute. Milk is soured by adding an acid such as lemon juice or vinegar. Here's how...

Ingredients

1 cup milk 250 ml

1 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh or bottled, or vinegar 15 ml

Directions

Stir lemon juice or vinegar in milk. Let sit 5 to 10 minutes until milk curdles. Use in place of buttermilk.

Fermented dairy products also work as buttermilk substitutes. Many times I've used yogurt, sour cream and kefir in place of buttermilk. Heck, you can even use Greek yogurt. In terms of consistency, kefir is the closest to buttermilk.